Students Against Food Insecurity are combating a challenge close to home

One-in-five Oregon children aren’t sure when their next meal will be.

According to the Oregon Health Authority, the health detriments of food insecurity for children can impact physical development and performance at school.

Lake Oswego High School’s Students Against Food Insecurity (SAFI) club believes these problems should be addressed head on and by young people.

“Food insecurity doesn’t only make a kid hungry, but also impacts their physical health, their academic performance and their emotional well-being,” said LHS sophomore Siciliy D’Orazio.

This year SAFI received a grant from Blessings in a Backpack, a food insecurity nonprofit, that matches up to $5,000 in fundraising. With that funding in hand, the goal is raise $10,000 to purchase food for the club’s sponsor school, Whitman Elementary School in the Mt. Scott neighborhood of Portland.

Club president Auveen Shafaei joined BackPack Club, the original iteration of SAFI, when she was a freshman.

BackPack programs and clubs are organized by Feeding America to address food insecurity for students during school breaks and on weekends. Now, SAFI has grown and recruited younger students like D’Orazio.

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